LA County Changes The Subject

Following California's declaration of a public health emergency for monkeypox yesterday, Los Angeles County, not to be outdone, declared a monkeypox emergency of its own.

L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Holly J. Mitchell introduced a proclamation declaring a local emergency over the rising cases of monkeypox. The action, which the board unanimously ratified, is an effort to bolster the county’s response to the outbreak. The day before, California declared a state of emergency because of the virus.

. . . Monkeypox cases in L.A. County rose to 423 on Tuesday, up more than 80% from a week prior, according to the county health department’s count of confirmed and probable cases. The majority of cases have been confirmed in men who identify as part of the LGBTQ community, county data show.

This comes only days after the county backed down on its threat to reimpose indoor COVID masking, which considering the county's standing as one of the most lockdown-friendly jurisdictions in the US must count as a tacit acknowledgement that supraconstitutional controls justified by a public health emergency are no longer politically viable anywhere. At the same time, turning the public attention to monkeypox must be seen as nothing but a face-saving gesture.

The county's public health website has this to say:

The federal supply of monkeypox vaccine remains limited. The Public Health priority is to administer a first dose of vaccine to as many people who are at higher risk for monkeypox exposure as possible. When the vaccine supply improves, Public Health will make second doses available.

Monkeypox vaccine is available to gay or bisexual men and transgender persons 18 years of age and older who. . .

Had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days including engaging in survival and/or transactional sex (e.g., sex in exchange for shelter, food and other goods and needs)

Note: If you are immunocompromised (including if you have advanced or uncontrolled HIV), you may be at high risk for severe disease and will be prioritized for vaccination.

If you met the prior eligibility criteria you are still eligible for vaccination (i.e., you are a gay or bisexual man or a transgender person and you had gonorrhea or early syphilis in the past 12 months; or you are on HIV PrEP; or you had anonymous sex or sex with multiple partners within the past 21 days in a commercial sex venue or other venue).

If you meet any of the above criteria, you can sign-up on-line for vaccination.

. . . If you have monkeypox symptoms or are currently under isolation for monkeypox, please do not attend the vaccination clinics or walk-up sites. If you think you have monkeypox please speak with a provider and get tested. If you do not have a provider, call 2-1-1 for assistance.

. . . The risk of monkeypox in the general population remains very low based on the information available.

Note the implication that having sex "in a commercial sex venue or other venue" puts you at high risk for contracting monkeypox -- but there's not a whisper of suggestion that closing such venues, or even limiting attendance, might be a justifiable move, even though public health jurisdictions throughout the state never hesitated either to close restaurants, barber shops, and churches or severely limit attendance for many months during COVID.

News sources announcing the emergency declaration say "more than 260 monkeypox cases have been identified so far — nearly the double the amount from a week ago." In other words, cases now are expanding at an exponential rate. So what will be the impact of the current strategy in addressing the case rate? Will we see, for instance, a flattening of the curve after 15 days?

And if a spike continues, what remedies will the authorities propose? As I noted yesterday, key figures in the failed COVID response have begun to acknowledge the failure and propose monkeypox as the opportunity for a do-over. When should we begin to see the results?